System for planning, managing, and analyzing sports teams and events

ABSTRACT

A system for planning, managing, and analyzing sports teams and events. The system may include a content management function for storing data. The data can pertain to a plurality of sports-related statistics and a variety of identifying data. The system and method can also include an event management function for planning and evaluating sports-related events such as practices and games. The system and method can also include a report function which can provide a variety of statistical analyses.

CROSS-REFERENCE APPLICATIONS

The present invention claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 120 to U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 61/565,042, filed on Nov. 30, 2011entitled “THE EDGE”, the contents of which is incorporated by referenceherein in its entirety, as well as U.S. patent application Ser. No.17/712,320, filed on Apr. 4, 2022, U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/752,894, filed on Jan. 27, 2020, U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/354,435, filed on Mar. 15, 2019, U.S. Patent Application No.15,852,555, filed on Dec. 22, 2017, U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/614,257, filed on Sep. 13, 2012, the contents of which are alsoincorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

In sporting events, the slightest advantage may be the differencebetween a win and a loss. As a result, coaches have often employedstatistical analyses in order to try to learn the tendencies ofopponents and the effectiveness of various strategies and tactics.Tracking all of the data required to make these determinations isextremely time and resource consuming. Due to the time it takes toanalyze statistical sports-related data, coaches are usually required towait until the conclusion of a match or half in order to determinetendencies and strategic advantages.

While there are tools available for statistical analysis, many of thesetools require extensive technology not compatible with an arena,stadium, or field on which most athletic contests are conducted.Additionally, these tools remain cumbersome to use before and after suchcontests as well, frustrating efficient game analysis and preparation.Further, many of these systems are not sports-specific and thus requiretedious data entry, manipulation, and other time consuming actions inorder to perform an analysis.

Additionally, although coaches and players watch film to review playsand perform assessments, the methods of reviewing and formatting thedata are typically incomplete or riddled with errors. Errors occur basedon handwritten or typed notes where any mistake in player number,formation, package, down, score, or any other situational information isimproperly entered. These errors render any analytics derived therefromas meaningless or worse, where they negatively impact review andstrategy.

Additionally, known methods of reviewing and performing analytics areslow, time consuming, and/or impossible to utilize in real time or eventime between games. There is no known method or system that can reviewand analyze data in real time or otherwise rapidly so that playsuggestions can be made or success rates can be determined. Moreover,there is no known system or capability for properly storing andanalyzing historical data in order to provide any meaningful outputs tocoaches, players, or teams.

Further, play data stored in a database is impossible for a coach,player, or other reviewer to utilize without a direct comparison or eachplay, the players involved in each play, the situational data associatedwith each play, and the results of each play. Such data is not presentlystored in a database in a manner that makes it accessible or usable.Further, the information cannot be translated into a usable or valuableform presently.

Thus, a system which provides quick, simple and efficientsports-specific statistical analysis on computing devices is desired.

SUMMARY

A sports management system, which can include a user interface, aprocessor, a memory, and a management module stored on the memory. Themanagement module can be configured to receive and store data input bythe user relating to sports plays and the results of implementing thesports plays, analyze the data input by the user, and provide the userwith feedback and suggestions based on the analysis conducted.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Advantages of embodiments of the present invention will be apparent fromthe following detailed description of the exemplary embodiments. Thefollowing detailed description should be considered in conjunction withthe accompanying figures in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an exemplary computer system.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of an exemplary embodiment of the sports managementsystem.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of exemplary operational steps for enteringinformation about a play into the system.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of exemplary operational steps for enteringinformation about a play into the system.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart of exemplary operational steps for enteringsituational data into the system

FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing exemplary operational steps forevaluating a play.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing exemplary operational steps forevaluating a player.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing exemplary operational steps for selectinga play.

FIG. 9 is an exemplary embodiment of a practice script.

FIG. 10 shows an exemplary embodiment of a grid interface.

FIG. 11 shows an exemplary embodiment of a real time situationalanalysis and assistance tool.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Aspects of the present invention are disclosed in the followingdescription and related figures directed to specific embodiments of theinvention. Those skilled in the art will recognize that alternateembodiments may be devised without departing from the spirit or thescope of the claims. Additionally, well-known elements of exemplaryembodiments of the invention will not be described in detail or will beomitted so as not to obscure the relevant details of the invention.

As used herein, the word “exemplary” means “serving as an example,instance or illustration.” The embodiments described herein are notlimiting, but rather are exemplary only. It should be understood thatthe described embodiments are not necessarily to be construed aspreferred or advantageous over other embodiments. Moreover, the terms“embodiments of the invention”, “embodiments” or “invention” do notrequire that all embodiments of the invention include the discussedfeature, advantage, or mode of operation.

Further, many of the embodiments described herein are described in termsof sequences of actions to be performed by, for example, elements of acomputing device. It should be recognized by those skilled in the artthat the various sequence of actions described herein can be performedby specific circuits (e.g., application specific integrated circuits(ASICs)) and/or by program instructions executed by at least oneprocessor. Additionally, the sequence of actions described herein can beembodied entirely within any form of computer-readable storage mediumsuch that execution of the sequence of actions enables the processor toperform the functionality described herein. Thus, the various aspects ofthe present invention may be embodied in a number of different forms,all of which have been contemplated to be within the scope of theclaimed subject matter. In addition, for each of the embodimentsdescribed herein, the corresponding form of any such embodiments may bedescribed herein as, for example, “a computer configured to” perform thedescribed action.

Generally referring to FIGS. 1-6 , a system for identifying, organizing,storing and evaluating sports-related data may be disclosed. The systemmay be able to accept inputs relating to plays, statistics and othersports related data and may present a user with strategic or coachingoptions based on such inputs. The system may determine successful playsor systems based on prior actions or schemes. The system may also sortplays based on a variety of criteria, such as, but not limited to,effectiveness, situations and formations. The system may be implementedthrough any desirable operating system being run on any desirablecomputer interface, such as a computer, tablet or other personalcomputing device. In some exemplary embodiments, the system can networkthis data, which can allow users of the system to compare differentteams and draw statistical analysis from the networked data.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary computer system 111 upon which anembodiment of the present invention may be implemented. The computersystem 111 includes a bus 112 or other communication mechanism forcommunicating information, and a processor 113 coupled with the bus 112for processing the information. The computer system 111 also includes amain memory 114, such as a random access memory (RAM) or other dynamicstorage device (e.g., dynamic RAM (DRAM), static RAM (SRAM), andsynchronous DRAM (SDRAM)), coupled to the bus 112 for storinginformation and instructions to be executed by processor 113. Inaddition, the main memory 114 may be used for storing temporaryvariables or other intermediate information during the execution ofinstructions by the processor 113. The computer system 111 furtherincludes a read only memory (ROM) 115 or other static storage device(e.g., programmable ROM (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM), and electricallyerasable PROM (EEPROM)) coupled to the bus 112 for storing staticinformation and instructions for the processor 113.

The computer system 111 also includes a disk controller 116 coupled tothe bus 112 to control one or more storage devices for storinginformation and instructions, such as a magnetic hard disk 117, and aremovable media drive 118 (e.g., floppy disk drive, read-only compactdisc drive, read/write compact disc drive, compact disc jukebox, tapedrive, and removable magneto-optical drive). The storage devices may beadded to the computer system 111 using an appropriate device interface(e.g., small computer system interface (SCSI), integrated deviceelectronics (IDE), enhanced-IDE (E-IDE), direct memory access (DMA), orultra-DMA).

Further, exemplary embodiments include or incorporate at least onedatabase which may store software, descriptive data, system data,digital images and any other data item required by the other componentsnecessary to effectuate any embodiment of the present system known toone having ordinary skill in the art. The database may be provided, forexample, as a database management system (DBMS), a relational databasemanagement system (e.g., DB2, ACCESS, etc.), an object-oriented databasemanagement system (ODBMS), a file system or another conventionaldatabase package as a few non-limiting examples. The database can beaccessed via a Structure Query Language (SQL) or other tools known toone having skill in the art.

Still referring to FIG. 1 , the computer system 111 may also includespecial purpose logic devices (e.g., application specific integratedcircuits (ASICs)) or configurable logic devices (e.g., simpleprogrammable logic devices (SPLDs), complex programmable logic devices(CPLDs), and field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs)).

The computer system 111 may also include a display controller 119coupled to bus 112 to control a display 120, such as a cathode ray tube(CRT), liquid crystal display (LCD) or any other type of display, fordisplaying information to a computer client. The computer systemincludes input devices, such as a keyboard 121 and a pointing device122, for interacting with a computer client and providing information tothe processor 113. Additionally, a touch screen could be employed inconjunction with display 120. The pointing device 122, for example, maybe a mouse, a trackball, or a pointing stick for communicating directioninformation and command selections to the processor 113 and forcontrolling cursor movement on the display 120. In addition, a printermay provide printed listings of data stored and/or generated by thecomputer system 111.

The computer system 111 performs a portion or all of the processingsteps of the invention in response to the processor 113 executing one ormore sequences of one or more instructions contained in a memory, suchas the main memory 114. Such instructions may be read into the mainmemory 114 from another computer readable medium, such as a hard disk117 or a removable media drive 118. One or more processors in amulti-processing arrangement may also be employed to execute thesequences of instructions contained in main memory 114. In alternativeembodiments, hard-wired circuitry may be used in place of or incombination with software instructions. Thus, embodiments are notlimited to any specific combination of hardware circuitry and software.

As stated above, the computer system 111 includes at least one computerreadable medium or memory for holding instructions programmed accordingto the teachings of the invention and for containing data structures,tables, records, or other data described herein. Examples of computerreadable media are compact discs, hard disks, floppy disks, tape,magneto-optical disks, PROMs (EPROM, EEPROM, flash EPROM), DRAM, SRAM,SDRAM, or any other magnetic medium, compact discs (e.g., CD-ROM), orany other optical medium, punch cards, paper tape, or other physicalmedium with patterns of holes, a carrier wave (described below), or anyother medium from which a computer can read.

Stored on any one or on a combination of computer readable media, thepresent invention includes software for controlling the computer system111, for driving a device or devices for implementing the invention, andfor enabling the computer system 111 to interact with a human client.Such software may include, but is not limited to, device drivers,operating systems, development tools, and applications software. Suchcomputer readable media further includes the computer program product ofthe present invention for performing all or a portion (if processing isdistributed) of the processing performed in implementing the invention.

The computer code devices of the present invention may be anyinterpretable or executable code mechanism, including but not limited toscripts, interpretable programs, dynamic link libraries (DLLs), Javaclasses, and complete executable programs. Moreover, parts of theprocessing of the present invention may be distributed for betterperformance, reliability, and/or cost.

The term “computer readable medium” as used herein refers to any mediumthat participates in providing instructions to the processor 113 forexecution. A computer readable medium may take many forms, including butnot limited to, non-volatile media, volatile media, and transmissionmedia. Non-volatile media includes, for example, optical, magneticdisks, and magneto-optical disks, such as the hard disk 117 or theremovable media drive 118. Volatile media includes dynamic memory, suchas the main memory 114. Transmission media includes coaxial cables,copper wire and fiber optics, including the wires that make up the bus112. Transmission media also may also take the form of acoustic or lightwaves, such as those generated during radio wave and infrared datacommunications.

Various forms of computer readable media may be involved in carrying outone or more sequences of one or more instructions to processor 113 forexecution. For example, the instructions may initially be carried on amagnetic disk of a remote computer. The remote computer can load theinstructions for implementing all or a portion of the present inventionremotely into a dynamic memory and send the instructions over atelephone line using a modem. A modem local to the computer system 111may receive the data on the telephone line and use an infraredtransmitter to convert the data to an infrared signal. An infrareddetector coupled to the bus 112 can receive the data carried in theinfrared signal and place the data on the bus 112. The bus 112 carriesthe data to the main memory 114, from which the processor 113 retrievesand executes the instructions. The instructions received by the mainmemory 114 may optionally be stored on storage device 117 or 118 eitherbefore or after execution by processor 113.

The computer system 111 also includes a communication interface 123coupled to the bus 112. The communication interface 123 provides atwo-way data communication coupling to a network link 124 that isconnected to, for example, a local area network (LAN) 125, or to anothercommunications network 126 such as the Internet. For example, thecommunication interface 123 may be a network interface card to attach toany packet switched LAN. As another example, the communication interface123 may be a wireless link. In any such implementation, thecommunication interface 123 sends and receives electrical,electromagnetic or optical signals that carry digital data streamsrepresenting various types of information.

The network link 124 typically provides data communication through oneor more networks to other data devices. For example, the network link124 may provide a connection to another computer or remotely locatedpresentation device through a local network 125 (e.g., an802.11-compliant wireless network) or through equipment operated by aservice provider, which provides communication services through acommunications network 126. In preferred embodiments, the local network124 and the communications network 126 preferably use electrical,electromagnetic, or optical signals that carry digital data streams. Thesignals through the various networks and the signals on the network link124 and through the communication interface 123, which carry the digitaldata to and from the computer system 111, are exemplary forms of carrierwaves transporting the information. The computer system 111 can transmitand receive data, including program code, through the network(s) 125 and126, the network link 124 and the communication interface 123. Moreover,the network link 124 may provide a connection through a LAN 125 to amobile device 127 such as a personal digital assistant (PDA) laptopcomputer, or cellular telephone. The LAN communications network 125 andthe communications network 126 both use electrical, electromagnetic oroptical signals that carry digital data streams. The signals through thevarious networks and the signals on the network link 124 and through thecommunication interface 123, which carry the digital data to and fromthe system 111, are exemplary forms of carrier waves transporting theinformation. The processor system 111 can transmit notifications andreceive data, including program code, through the network(s), thenetwork link 124 and the communication interface 123.

Other aspects of the invention may include data transmission andInternet-related activities. See Preston Gralla, How the Internet Works,Ziff-Davis Press (1996), which is hereby incorporated by reference intothis patent application. Still other aspects of the invention mayutilize wireless data transmission.

FIG. 2 shows an exemplary embodiment of a sports management system 200.System 200 can allow a user to plan, manage, and analyze a variety ofaspects of a sports team, sporting event, or series of sporting events.System 200 can help a user determine which systems, plays or otheractions may be effective or beneficial. System 200 can help to makethese determinations based on data, for example data relating to theprogress or outcome of a sporting event, that is input by one or moreusers. In some exemplary embodiments, system 200 can be utilized toplan, manage, and analyze any type of sporting event, for example afootball game, basketball game, baseball game, soccer game, or any othertype of sporting event as desired. While many of the examples containedherein pertain to American football, system 200 can be used to plan,manage, and analyze any type of sporting event or other scenario-basedsequence of events.

System 200 can include content management function 212, which can allowusers to upload data relating to players, plays, statistics, or anyother content as desired. The content management function can allowusers to organize or identify players or plays based on any desiredattribute, such as chance of success, formation, game situation, playersinvolved, or any other desired criteria. A search engine may also beincorporated into system 200 in order to allow users to parse the datastored therein.

Still referring to the exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2 ,content management function 212 can be configured to accept a widevariety of plays or schemes. For example, a user can upload a playbook204, which can be a collection of many plays, into system 200. In someexemplary embodiments, a user can upload or input a playbook 204relating to a “spread” type football offense, a “4-3” type footballdefense, or a “3-4” type football defense into system 200. A playbook204 can be uploaded as a whole or it can be input by a user one play ata time. In some exemplary embodiments, as a user inputs a play, whichmay be in real time or after an event or game has happened, contentmanagement function 212 can prompt the user through a series of menus toinput attributes associated with the play, for example the type of play222, such as run or pass, the play formation 224, such as I-formation orshotgun, the play personnel 226, such as a package containing three widereceivers and two running backs, required for the play, or any otherattribute as desired. In other exemplary embodiments, content managementfunction 212 may determine or extract this information from playbook 204once playbook 204 is uploaded into system 200.

According to at least one exemplary embodiment, a method of inputting aplaybook, such as playbook 204, may be depicted in exemplary FIG. 3 .First, in step 302, system 200 may request plays to be input. Plays maybe input in any desirable manner at any desired time, such as manuallythrough prompts stored within system 200 or via any computer readablemedium. Once plays are input into system 200, system 200 may determine,in step 304, the play formation 224, type of play 222, play personnel226, or some combination thereof associated with each included playlisting 220. Step 304 may be accomplished either by requesting thenecessary information through prompts, such as drop-down or other menus,or by extracting such information from an uploaded or input playbook204. For example, a user may input a running play by uploading a diagramand indicate that the play is a running play, utilizing an I-formationwith two running backs, two receivers, and one tight end. Once thisinformation is determined, content management function 212 can, in step306, classify the input or uploaded play with regards to play type 222,play formation 224, play personnel 226, or any other desired attributes.Next, in step 308, content management function can request the user toinput other attributes, for example play goal 230. Once this iscomplete, content management function can in step 310 create and store arecord of this play within a database as a play listing 220, which maylater be displayed to the user.

In this way, system 200 can facilitate analysis of plays regardless ofthe specific terminology used to describe them. Many different namingschemes can be used by many different teams, which can sometimes makecross-team analysis difficult. System 200 can allow plays or otherinformation to be stored and organized based on standard attributes,which can facilitate statistical analysis despite differences innomenclature.

As one example, in the exemplary case of an American football team,plays can be entered and sorted by formation. FIG. 10 shows an exemplaryembodiment of a grid interface that can be used to construct a play inorder for it to be entered into system 200. In this grid interface, grid1000 can be subdivided into cells which can represent every potentialposition available for a football formation. A user can describe aformation by associating a player with a cell corresponding to his orher position in the formation as it is lined up on the field. In thisexample, a Wide Receiver can be represented by X, Z, or B; a tight endcan be represented by Y, a Tackle can be represented by T, a Center canbe represented by C, a Guard can be represented by G, a Quarterback canbe represented by Q, and a Running Back can be represented by RB. Inthis way, a team can analyze, for example, game film from another teamand conduct effective statistical analysis and game planning despitedifferences in nomenclature or terminology.

FIG. 4 shows a specific exemplary embodiment of a process through whicha user can input a play, in this case a football running play. At step402, the user can select New Play. At step 404, the user can bepresented with options for type of play 222, and can select Run. At step406, the user can be presented with options for attributes associatedwith Run plays, and can select Zone Runs. At step 408, the user can bepresented with options for attributes associated with Zone Runs, and canselect Inside Zone Option Runs. At step 410, the user can choose a nameto be associated with this play in playbook 204. The user can finallychoose a direction for the play at step 412 and save the play into theplaybook 204 at step 414.

Regardless of how or when a user inputs, uploads, or otherwise entersplays or playbooks 204 into system 200, content management function 212can create play listings 220 for each individual play contained withinplaybook 204. Play listings 220 may be identified by specific names ortags which the user assigns to the specific plays or by commonly usednames which may be identified by the system. Play listings 220 can alsobe identified by attributes associated with the play, for example astype of play 222, play formation 224, play personnel 226 or play goal230, or any other type of attribute as desired, for example directionsand motions. As mentioned, content management function 212 candetermine, extract, or otherwise glean this specific information fromplaybook 204 or may receive this information from user inputs, asreceived through any desired manner, such as a series of drop-down menusor user prompts as depicted in FIG. 4 .

In some exemplary embodiments, once playbook 204 is uploaded orotherwise entered into system 200, a user can sort, or prompt system 200to sort, the plays contained within playbook 204 based on variousattributes, such as type of play 222, play formation 224 or playpersonnel 226. For example, content management function 212 may grouptogether all plays which have been designated or selected as “pass”plays under type of play 222. Content management function 212 can alsobe used to sort plays by more than one attribute. For example, playsgrouped together as “pass” plays in the attribute type of play 222 canbe further sorted into play formation 224 groupings such as “shotgun”pass plays, or “I-formation” pass plays. Continuing this examplefurther, the plays sorted under type of play 222 and play formation 224can be further sorted by play personnel 226. For example, “pass” plays,“shotgun” plays and “I-formation” plays may each be sorted by the numberof wide receivers on the field. Content management function 212 caninterrelate any play listings 220 in any desired manner, such as thoseplay listings 220 having similar characteristics, such as type of play222, play formation 224, play personnel 226, play goal 230, or any otherdesired attribute or combination of attributes. Thus, for example, if auser desires a shotgun-type passing play with four receivers, contentmanagement function 212 can present all possible options.

Content management function 212 can also be used to store informationregarding specific players or groups of players. Content managementfunction 212 can, for example, store a player's name and number, as wellas attributes associated with the player. These attributes can be, forexample, a player's height, weight, speed, age or other physicalqualities. Any other attributes can be associated with a player, forexample the position played by the player, or a specific personnelgrouping. In this way, a player stored by content management function212 can also be associated with a play or group of plays in a playbook204 by being included in a play personnel 226 attribute.

Referring again to FIG. 2 , System 200 can also include an eventmanagement function 214. Event management function 214 can provide toolswhich can allow a user to strategize, manage, and evaluate an event asit happens. Examples of events that can be managed using eventmanagement function 214 can include games, practices, or any other typeof event as desired.

In some exemplary embodiments, event management function 214 can be usedto plan for games. Once system 200 has been populated with play listings220, such as by uploading playbook 204 into system 200, a user canselect certain plays for a specific game plan or opponent. Contentmanagement function 212 can sort the plays contained within playbook 204before the user selects plays for a specific game plan and may presentplay listings 220 which may be preferred for the specific game plan,such as those play listings 220 which may be determined or denoted to beeffective based on the schemes or tendencies of an upcoming opponent.Alternatively, a user may select any combination of play listings 220for a game plan and select these play listings 220 to be the only playspresented during a specific game or sporting event. Further, eithersystem 200 or a user may choose to interrelate specific plays withcertain situational data 208 for a specific game or game plan. Forexample, if a user knows that his or her team's next opponent plays adefense such as a “tampa-2” type defense, the user may configure system200 to only select plays effective against a tampa-2 defense during theupcoming game.

In some exemplary embodiments, event management function 214 can be usedto construct tools which can be used during a game. For example, if agroup of plays have been selected as appropriate for a particular gameor opponent and incorporated into a game plan, event management function214 can construct one or more ready sheets which can include a listingof those plays and other pertinent information. Multiple ready sheetscan be constructed for each game plan as desired. For example, differentready sheets can be constructed for each different personnel grouping ona team, containing information appropriate for each personnel grouping.As an example, on a football team special ready sheets can beconstructed for personnel groupings such as wide receivers, runningbacks, or linemen, each containing information that is especially usefulfor its intended audience. Additionally, other tools such as wristbandsfor quarterbacks can be constructed using event management function 214.

As an exemplary illustration of one embodiment of the system 200, a teamcan create a play call on their weekly ready sheet. The system 200 canassign a play call number to the play call for that week. That play calland play call number can be automatically mirrored on a quarterbackwristband which can be generated by system 200. In this way, a coach isnot required to type up a wristband, and the numbers can always beexactly the same on the ready sheet and wristband. This play call numbercan then be used to generate anything else such as practice scripts orgame plans, or anything else as desired. When a play call number isentered, the corresponding play call can appear in the appropriate placeon the script, wristband, game plan, or game data collector. In thisway, system 200 can allow various items such as the ready sheet, thewristband, the practice scripts, the game plan, and the game datacollector to be efficiently and easily created, organized, and analyzed.

Event management function 214 can be configured to accept or determinesituational data 208. Situational data 208 can relate to any data whichmay traditionally be kept or stored in a scoreboard, scorecard orscorebook. Situational data 208 can relate to the time left in asporting event, the quarter, period, or half which the game is in, thescore, the number of timeouts each team has left, or any other desireddata. For example, if it is being used to manage American football,event management function 214 can receive and determine situational data208 relating to the time left in each quarter, the number of timeoutseach team has left, which team has possession, and the down and distanceremaining. Additionally, situational data 208 can relate to schemes orplays run by an opponent. In this way, event management function 214 canfurther evaluate play effectiveness 228 based on the scheme or playagainst which a play listing 220 is run. Situational data 208 may beentered in any desired manner, for example a series of prompts anddrop-down menus.

FIG. 5 shows an exemplary embodiment of a process for receivingsituational data 208 relating to field position and down in an Americanfootball game. At step 502, event management function 214 can autofillthe play order. At step 504, a user can indicate whether a 2 minutedrill is necessary, and whether this is the start of a new possession.If a new possession is indicated, the user can enter the new fieldposition. At step 506, the event management function 214 can eitherenter this new field position, or autofill new field position based onprevious field position and the yardage of the previous play. At steps508 and 510, event management function can autofill the new down anddistance based on the previous play's down and distance compared to theyardage of the previous play, or enter first down and ten yards if thisis a new possession. Finally, at step 512 the user can enter the hashnecessary for the new play.

Once again referring to the exemplary embodiment depicted in FIG. 2 ,while a practice or game is occurring, event management function 214 canbe configured to receive play results 206. After a play is run, a usermay input results 206 into the system 200. Result 206 may be enteredinto the system through any keyboard or data entry device as desired,for example a touchscreen keyboard. Results 206 may relate to whattranspired on the previous play and may allow system 200 toautomatically update situational data 208 and determine the playeffectiveness 228 of the prior play. For example, if the previous playresulted in a gain of seven yards, the user may input that the previousplay resulted in a “gain” and when prompted for the number of yards, theuser may enter “seven.” This situational data 208 may allow system 200to then determine situational data 208 relating to the next play. Forexample, if the gain of seven occurs on a first down and ten, system 200may determine that the next play will be a second down play requiringthree yards for a first down, in accordance with the rules 210 ofAmerican football. Results 206 can be entered or otherwise input intosystem 200 in any desirable manner, such as through a series of promptsand drop-down menus.

In order to determine play effectiveness 228, event management function214 may compare play goal 230, which may be entered by a user ordetermined by content management function 212, to the result 206, whichcan be input by a user. In some exemplary embodiments, if a play listing220 has a result 206 which has a value greater than that of play goal230, the play listing 220 may be determined to be “effective.” In otherexemplary embodiments, system 200 may simply track the net yardage gainproduced by a certain play listing 220 from result 206. In still otherexemplary embodiments, evaluation system may determine playeffectiveness 228 through any desirable statistical analysis ordetermine the effectiveness 228 of a play listing 220 when the play usedin the presence of particular situational data 208. For example, if ateam runs a passing play designed with a play goal 230 of gaining sevenyards against a cover-2 defense and the play gains thirty-five yards,the play may be marked or otherwise designated generally effective,effective for gaining over twenty yards, effective against a cover-2defense, five times more effective than expected, any combinationthereof, or any desired variation. Each of these play effectiveness 228determinations may be stored within system 200 and compared to otherresults 206, either previously or later recorded. In this way, eventmanagement function may create cumulative play effectiveness 228determinations.

Still referring to FIG. 2 , and although some exemplary embodiments mayrefer to or rely on post-event input, event management function 214 canbe used to manage a game or other event while it is in progress. In someexemplary embodiments, event management function 214 can interrelatesituational data 208, rules 210, and play effectiveness 228 relating toa particular play listing 220, in such a way that it can suggesteffective play listings 220 to a user in any situation. System 200 maydetermine which plays are appropriate, effective or otherwise desirablefor certain game situations based on the play effectiveness 228 of aplay listing 220 in situations when similar situational data 208 waspresent. Further, event management function 214 can account for therules 210 of the specific sport being played in order to ensure thateffective play listings 220 are being displayed to the user. Forexample, if system 200 determines that a user's team is losing anAmerican football game, has no timeouts left, and fewer than two minutesremain in regulation, system 200 may display a variety of shotgun passeswith similar formations to increase the chance of scoring quickly anddecrease the chance of unnecessarily using time for personnelsubstitutions and formation changes. Additionally, in other exemplaryembodiments, system 200 may be able to provide situational suggestionsor suggestions based on simulations or previously occurred events.

Event management function 214 can associate play effectiveness 228 witha specific play listing 220, such that a specific play may be recognizedas effective for a certain result, such as gaining a certain number ofyards. Thus, event management function can determine or select effectiveor otherwise desirable plays based on comparing situational data 208 toplay effectiveness 228 in order to determine whether a play would be anappropriate selection at a particular time. For example, if a footballteam needs a play for third down with six yards to go, event managementfunction can provide a user with plays effective for gaining six yards.Alternatively, a coach may ignore play effectiveness and request playsbased on other attributes, such as type of play 222, play formation 224,play personnel 226, or any other attributes as desired. Further, a usermay also input additional situational data 208 based on other criteriaor circumstances, such as coaching decisions. For example, if a userdecides to, if necessary, use four downs instead of the traditionalthree to try to gain a first down, the user may indicate this and eventmanagement function 214 can present third down play options which may beeffective for gaining fewer yards than needed for a first down.

In some exemplary embodiments, event management function 214 can allow auser to input data relating to the result of a play in order to assistin evaluating the play. FIG. 6 depicts an exemplary embodiment of aseries of menus which can allow a user to enter the result 206associated with a play listing 220 into system 200 after the teamattempts to execute a particular play listing 220. As depicted in FIG. 6, results 206 may relate to any aspect or action that occurred in theprior play. At step 602, the user can select Evaluate Plays. At step604, the user can select the play that was run from a list of plays. Atstep 606, the user can enter information relating to the play, forexample whether the play was successful, the amount of gain or loss, andwhether a penalty occurred. At step 610, the user can provide furtherinformation, for example the yards run after a catch, or the reason thata pass attempt was incomplete. At step 612, the user can save the result206 to content management function 212. Further, in some exemplaryembodiments, results 206 may pertain to specific players as well as theplay in general. In this manner, system 200 may not only evaluate theeffectiveness of plays, but the effectiveness of the players actingwithin them.

In an exemplary embodiment which allows event management function 214 totrack the actions and effectiveness of the players themselves, system200 may allow a user to input grades for the players. This data, similarto the data regarding a specific play, may also be stored in, forexample, content management function 212, which can allow for furtherevaluation at a later time. FIG. 7 shows an exemplary embodiment of aseries of menus which can allow a user to evaluate the performance of aplayer. At step 702, the user can indicate that the player is anoffensive lineman. At step 704, the user can elect to enter informationrelating to the blocking performance of the player. At step 706, theuser can select a grade corresponding to the performance of the player,for example 0. At step 710, the user can input a reason for the gradegiven, for example “poor technique” or “penalty.” At step 712, the usercan indicate the type of penalty. At step 714, the user can save thedata to content management function 212.

FIG. 8 shows an exemplary process in which event management function 214can facilitate the management of a game as it occurs. First, in step802, a user can input a gameplan, which can consist of a playbook 204 ora subset of a playbook 204, into event management function 214. Once thegameplan is uploaded, system 200, which may include an integrateddatabase, may sort, in step 804, the plays contained within the gameplanbased on various criteria, such as type of play 222, play formation 224,play personnel 226, play effectiveness 228, or any other desiredattribute. A user may then search this database based on specificcriteria, in step 806, by inputting the specific criteria, such as playeffectiveness 228. The system may then, in step 808, display relevantplay listings 220, as determined based on the relevant criteria, gamerules 210, and situational data 208. A user may select a play listing220 from the play listings 220 displayed in step 608 and once the teamruns the play, the user may input, in step 810, result 206 to reflectwhat occurred on the play.

Still referring to the exemplary method depicted in FIG. 3 , once step810 is complete, event management function 214 may reevaluate the playsbased on the relevant criteria, but, in order to do so, playeffectiveness 228 must first be determined in step 812. System 200 maydetermine play effectiveness by comparing play goal 230 to result 206,and may subsequently automatically update the play effectiveness 228associated with the play listing 220 that was just run. At this point,system 200 may repeat step 804 and re-sort playbook 204 based on thisupdated data. Then, based on a user selection in step 806, system 200may display the newly relevant play listings 220 in step 808. However,if a user declines to enter new criteria in step 806, system 200 mayautomatically update the play listings 220 shown to a user in step 808based on the situational data 208 associated with the next play. Thesituational data 208 associated with the new or next play listings 220may be determined, as shown above in FIG. 5 , based on the previouslyexisting situational data 208 and the results 206. This may be repeateduntil system 200 or a user determines that a new play is not needed.

In some exemplary embodiments, event management function 214 can be usedto manage practices. Event management function 214 can be used toconstruct practice scripts, which can be specific list of play listings220 in a particular desired order. FIG. 9 shows an exemplary embodimentof a practice script which is designed for a football offense. In thisexemplary embodiment, element 902 can refer to the play number, element904 can refer to the hash mark, element 906 can be the field position,element 908 can be the down, element 910 can be the distance, element912 can be the playcall indicated on the quarterback's wristband,element 914 can be the play personnel 226 required for the particularplay, element 916 can be the playcall, and elements 918, 920, and 922can indicate the defensive alignment that is to be faced. These practicescripts can be used to construct ready sheets and other tools, and eventmanagement function 214 can suggest plays and receive data as describedabove and otherwise simulate a game environment.

While many of the aforementioned exemplary embodiments have discussedembodiments for monitoring and analyzing offensive American footballplays, it is similarly envisioned that system 200 may be utilized tomonitor and evaluate offensive and defensive plays, as well as,individual athlete performance, in any sport. In fact, in some exemplaryembodiments, system 200 may combine these two functions in order tomaximize the talents of a team by suggesting plays with specific playersso that the play may be most effective. Additionally, system 200 may beused in any of a variety of conditions, such as real time input andanalysis during an event or game, post-game input and analysis, and maywork with simulation-based data, as desired.

Referring to FIG. 2 , system 200 may also include report function 218.Report function 218 can generate in-depth statistical analyses of eventsthat have been managed by system 200. These reports can be organized ina variety of ways, and be searchable and reconfigurable as desired. Insome exemplary embodiments, these reports can, for example, help a usercorrelate the play effectiveness 228 of a play listing 220 with itscorresponding situational data 208 in order to assist a user inunderstanding the reasons for a result and strategizing for the future.

In an exemplary embodiment in which a system 200 is used to manage anAmerican football team, a variety of reports can be generated. Forexample, report function 218 can generate reports relating to a singlegame or practice, a season of games or practices, or any other desiredcombination. The reports can present information in the form of graphs,lists, percentages, or any other format as desired. The reports can comein a variety of forms. For example, report function 218 can generate aTendencies Summary, which can give a user a breakdown of the actions heor she took, for example running the ball or passing the ball, whenconfronted with a specific set of circumstances. Report function 218 canalso generate a Success Rate Summary, which can indicate the totalnumber of results and the success rates of specific actions, for examplespecific plays or types of plays. In some exemplary embodiments, theSuccess Rate Summary can indicate, for example, the number of yardsgained or lost on average by individual play listings 220. Reportfunction 218 can also generate lists of particularly successful orparticularly unsuccessful plays or types of plays, organized by resultor success rate.

In some exemplary embodiments, report function 218 can also generatereports based on situational data 208. For example, report function 218can generate a summary of actions taken and results achieved in specificsituations. As an example, report function 218 can create a reportlisting every play called on any specific down, distance, fieldposition, time remaining, hash mark, or any other situation orcombination of situations as desired.

In other exemplary embodiments, report function 218 can also generatereports for specific players or personnel groups. For example, separatereports can be generated for the offense and defense of a football team,and those reports can be further subdivided by personnel grouping.Reports can also be generated organized by, for example, formationsused, defensive fronts and coverages shown, motions, shifts, or stuntsemployed, or blitz packages used.

In still other exemplary embodiments, report function 218 can providereports about specific players. The reports can include information suchas the number of games, practices, plays, type of plays, situations,personnel packages, and actions in which the player was involved, aswell as the result in each case. The reports can focus on the player'sstatistics relating to certain actions, for example throwing, receiving,blocking, blocking, running, or blitzing.

Each of the functions discussed above can be executed for the entireteam, or separately for any desired subdivision or combination ofsubdivisions of a team. For example, separate playbooks 204 can bestored for the offense and defense of a team. Separate gameplans,practice scripts, and ready sheets can be constructed for, as anexample, the offense, defense and kicking unit. After practices orgames, separate reports can be generated, or reports can be combined inany configuration as desired.

The system 200 can be implemented using any type of input or outputdevice as desired. In some exemplary the system 200 can be a web basedapplication which can make use of an internet connection, which canallow any device connected to the internet to use it. In one exemplaryembodiment, the system 200 can be implemented on one or more tablet orlaptop computers. As an example, a team could use multiple tabletcomputers for multiple coaches. In this example, the separate tabletsused by the different coaches could each be used to manage the playbooks204, gameplans, practice scripts, ready sheets, evaluations, and reportsappropriate for each coach. Further, in this example the tabletcomputers could be capable of communicating with each other as well asthe system 200 as a whole. As a result, any sort of communicationbetween any user of the system and any other user could be facilitated.In this way, a head coach could access, for example, the gameplansprepared by his or her assistant coaches, and provide approval orcorrections as required. Or, as another example, a coordinator couldassemble a practice script, disseminate it to the position coacheswithin his or her purview, and then keep track of the progress of eachunit throughout the practice using reports generated by his or herassistants.

Further, in some other exemplary embodiments, the system 200 can beutilized to compare various items, such as playbooks 204 or datagenerated by report function 218. In such embodiments, groups of playsand situations, for example, may be compared in order to providestatistical data amongst multiple teams, multiple sets of playbooks orany other data utilized in the system 200, as desired. In some exemplaryembodiments, where there is video data of plays, system 200 may beutilized to automatically create video overlays of the same play run indifferent scenarios, but associated with the same situational data. Forexample, video overlays can be created for situations where the team islosing with two minutes remaining in a game (or in an equivalentsituation simulated in practice), and a particular play is run, and thentabulate the success rate of the play. System 200 may utilize videooverlays to determine if the positioning of a player or players affectedthe play, the movement or speed of the players or ball affected thesuccess of the play, and the like. Such video overlays may be stored ina database or cloud based memory (as described below), but may also beselected and displayed to a viewer upon request. For example, a coachcould review a play run in practice based on certain situational dataand overlay that with the same play run during a game and evaluate, forexample, both visually and with metrics output by system 200, whydifferent successes or failures occurred.

In still other exemplary embodiments, event management function 214 canbe used for real time strategy and providing situational outputs andrecommendations for a user. For example, if a user is presented with acertain set of situational data 208, event management function 214 canprovide an immediate output of a play from the playbook that is mostlikely to be successful in that situation, or a listing of a group, forexample four plays, with the highest likelihood of success. In thisexample, the situational data 208 may include the time in the game (forexample two minutes left in the fourth quarter of a football game), thescore, the down, the location on the field, the status of players (e.g.if the best wide receiver has been injured and is not available to play,or if a player has an injury that still allows them to play, but at adegraded performance), and the defense that the opponent is utilizing.The user may enter this information on the input/output device and thesystem 200 may then immediately provide an output on the display of theinput/output device of one or more plays that would have the highestlikelihood of success (for example getting a first down, getting to adesired field position, or scoring), the player personnel data that isneeded, and the formation. In some exemplary embodiments, the historicalsuccess rates of such plays may also be shown.

It can be appreciated that the output of the plays with the highest rateof success can also be tailored, as desired. For example, in somesituations, the success rate of the plays and outputted play choice orchoices may be determined based on historical data from previous gamesduring a single season or multiple seasons. In other situations, thesuccess rate of plays and output play choice or choices may bedetermined based on games played against the same opponent or similaropponents during that season or previous seasons. In still otherexamples, the success rate of the plays and outputted play choice orchoices may be based on practice data related to plays conducted in thedays leading up to the game. In still other examples, success rate ofthe plays and outputted play choice or choices may be based on datacalculated from just the current game being played. Additionally, inother examples, the success rate of the plays and outputted play choiceor choices may be made from any combination of factors recited above.

In such exemplary embodiments, a real time interpolation of stored playdata with respect to situational information is used to provide a user(or coach) with appropriate play selection, along with personneldecisions, formation information, and the like. Without the system asdescribed in the exemplary embodiments herein, such determination ofappropriate play outputs and decisions would be impossible.

In other words, the amount of play data stored in the database describedherein will may be in the thousands of plays, the review of which by acoach (or other personnel) would require hundreds of hours of viewingtime. Moreover, in order to draw any meaningful conclusions from thedata in the absence of embodiments described herein, the viewer wouldhave to manually select and view both game play data and practice playdata to make comparisons between player activities and actions. However,still further time would need to be used in order to account forsituational data. Given the specific time constraints associated withsports seasons, where there may only be a few days between games, suchreview by itself would be impossible. Moreover, it would be impossiblefor a human reviewer to extract much meaningful information in thelimited timeframe, much less have the ability to do it in real timeduring a game or practice situation.

In still other exemplary embodiments, player effectiveness and/or theeffects of injuries on players may be determined using system 200. Inthese exemplary embodiments, the results of plays may be stored, asabove. However, the tasks performed by individual players may also betracked and evaluated. Thus, if a player blocked a first defender on aplay and it was successful, that may be compared to a player blocking asecond defender on a later version of the play. The results of the twoplays can then be compared based on the tasks performed by that player.Other tasks could involve going in motion, running a certain route,shifting, or the.

Further, over the course of numerous plays, if there is known injuryaffecting a certain player, the effectiveness or success rate of theplays can be measured against the same or similar plays made before aplayer was injured. A variation in the success rates of these plays canthen show how much the injury affected the player and overall successrate of the team. For example, if a team runs a set of plays X whenplaying team ABC in a first game and player 1 is uninjured in that game,but player 1 has a minor injury (for example a sprained ankle) in afollowing game, the results of the set of plays X in the first gameagainst team ABC can be measured against the set of plays X in thesecond game against team ABC. The success rate of the plays can then beinterpolated as a result of the injury to player 1, or it may be shownthat player 1 has little effect on the success rate of plays, dependingon the comparison.

When such an evaluation is made, the system 200 can provide an outputshown as an effectiveness rating for the player or and injury effectrating on the player. Such outputted ratings can then be used in thesituational data to help prompt a user of system 200 and provide animproved determination of plays to run in different situations, asoutlined above. Such information could also be utilized to automaticallyselect player personnel packages for a user of system 200.

Referring now to exemplary FIG. 11 , another embodiment of a tool foranalyzing situations and scenarios and outputting plays with the highestprobability of success may be shown. In this exemplary embodiment,system 1100 may be similar to system 200 described above. However, heresystem 1100 may be utilized in real time during a game, such as afootball game. The system may include any number of players 1102. Eachplayer 1102, in some exemplary embodiments, may have a tracking device1103, such as an RFID tag, GPS chip, or other such device embedded ontheir uniform. Additionally, in some exemplary embodiments, ball 1104may have a similar tracking device 1105 embedded therein. These devicesmay be used to track player and ball movement during the course of aplay in real time. As a result, the location of the players, theirmovement and speed of movement, and the progress of the play (such asgaining a certain number of yards or scoring), may be tracked duringeach play. It may be appreciated that a field on which the game is beingplayed may also include embedded sensors for tracking the movement ofplayers 1102 and/or the ball 1104. Alternatively, sensors otherwisepositioned proximate or near the field of play, remotely locatedscanners, satellites, or the like can also be used to track the movementof players 1102 and the ball 1104.

However, in some alternative exemplary embodiments, it is envisionedthat system 1100 may be utilized without tracking devices 1103 and 1105,as well as any related sensors. In such situations the player movements,formations, plays, and the like may be inputted by one or more usersobserving the play or watching a replay, may be made automatically usingvideo tracking capabilities or other movement and analysis tools.Additionally, in some exemplary embodiments where system 1100 is beingutilized, upon selection of a play, formation, player personnel package,or the like using computing device 1108, this information may beautomatically stored and/or transmitted to the cloud 1106 and server1110 to provide automatic data population and render the analyticsperformed by server 1110 as being made based on real time or active gamedata with the current opponent.

Still referring to exemplary FIG. 11 , once a play is underway, themovement of the players 1102 and ball 1104 may be tracked. Thisinformation may be uploaded to cloud 1106. Cloud 1106 may becommunicatively coupled to server 1110 which may perform real timeanalysis on the result of the play based on the movement of players 1102and ball 1104. Server 1110 (or cloud 1106) may also be synchronized withgame situational data, such as the time of the game, the score, locationon the field, weather conditions, and the like which may affect thechoice of play utilized.

Upon the completion of a play, the data is sent to cloud 1106 forstorage and server 1110 performs the comparative analysis of the play,as described previously. Further, server 1110 will utilize the result ofthe play, the situational data, and other analysis and data describedherein to transmit data to a computing device 1108, such as a tablet.Device 1108 may be utilized by a coach or other authorized personnel atthe game described with respect to FIG. 11 . The transmitted data fromserver 1110 to device 1108 may include the most successful play optionsfor the next play, based on the analytics performed by the server 1110.Additionally, the transmitted data can include the likelihood of successof the play contained in the transmitted data. Further, the transmitteddata may include a number of plays, for example four plays, with therelated likelihoods of success of each of those plays. The coach mayselect a desired play on device 1108, which allows the play call to besent to the cloud 1106 and ultimately to server 1110 for appropriateanalysis following the completion of the play. Additionally, theselection of a play on device 1108 may also affect the transmission ofthe desired play to a designated player or players among players 1102,who can receive the play information through a communication device,display device, or the like that may be positioned on or otherwiseassociated with players 1102. The play data may also provide any otherdesired information, such as formation, audible options and theirsuccess rates, or other data related to the particular situation so thatthe players 1102 can rapidly see and review the data and then proceed toexecute the desired play.

In such an example, the system 1100 is effectively translating dataregarding large amounts of historical plays, both from games andpractices, and outputting a specific play or play based on the analyticsperformed. As described herein, such data would be impossible for acoach or other personnel to obtain and perform within the confines of agame or even within typical time between games. Thus, the system allowsfor compiled historical data, which would otherwise be useless or oflimited use to be quickly processed and translated into specific outputsas guidance and recommendations that can be immediately utilized by acoach or team.

The foregoing description and accompanying figures illustrate theprinciples, preferred embodiments and modes of operation of theinvention. However, the invention should not be construed as beinglimited to the particular embodiments discussed above. Additionalvariations of the embodiments discussed above will be appreciated bythose skilled in the art.

Therefore, the above-described embodiments should be regarded asillustrative rather than restrictive. Accordingly, it should beappreciated that variations to those embodiments can be made by thoseskilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention asdefined by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system comprising: a computing deviceconfigured to receive data, wherein the data comprises at least one ofsituational data, player data, play data, and opposing team data; astorage device communicatively coupled to the computing device andconfigured to store a play tree structure comprising a plurality ofplays and a plurality of levels, wherein a first level of the play treestructure comprises a plurality of play options and a second level ofthe play tree structure comprises a plurality of further attributesassociated with each of the plurality of play options, and store datafrom one or more previous games; and an input device configured toaccept input from a user and store the input in the storage device,wherein the computing device is configured to compare data of a currentgame to data stored in the storage device from the one or more previousgames to identify one or more plays with a chance of success, anddisplay one or more plays selected from the plurality of plays and thechance of success associated with each selected play as a video overlay.2. The system of claim 1, wherein the computing device is furtherconfigured to use the data from the one or more previous games todetermine the chance of success associated with each selected play, usethe data of the current game to determine a next play which will havethe chance of success, and display the next play as a video overlay. 3.The system of claim 1, wherein the play data comprises at least one of aformation, play effectiveness, a type of play, and players involved inthe play.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein the computing devicedisplays one of the one or more plays that would have the highestlikelihood of success.